Water Pollution

When toxic substances enter lakes, streams, rivers, oceans, and other water bodies, they get dissolved or lie suspended in water or get deposited on the bed. This results in the pollution of water whereby the quality of the water deteriorates, affecting aquatic ecosystems. Pollutants can also seep down and affect the groundwater deposits.

Water pollution has many sources. The most polluting of them are the city sewage and industrial waste discharged into the rivers. The facilities to treat waste water are not adequate in any city in India. Presently, only about 10% of the waste water generated is treated; the rest is discharged as it is into our water bodies. Due to this, pollutants enter groundwater, rivers, and other water bodies. Such water, which ultimately ends up in our households, is often highly contaminated and carries disease-causing microbes. Agricultural run-off, or the water from the fields that drains into rivers, is another major water pollutant as it contains fertilizers and pesticides.

Domestic sewage refers to waste water that is discarded from households. Also referred to as sanitary sewage, such water contains a wide variety of dissolved and suspended impurities. 

It amounts to a very small fraction of the sewage by weight. But it is large by volume and contains impurities such as organic materials and plant nutrients that tend to rot. The main organic materials are food and vegetable waste, plant nutrient come from chemical soaps, washing powders, etc. Domestic sewage is also very likely to contain disease-causing microbes. Thus, disposal of domestic waste water is a significant technical problem. Sewage generated from the urban areas in India has multiplied manifold since 1947.

Today, many people dump their garbage into streams, lakes, rivers, and seas, thus making water bodies the final resting place of cans, bottles, plastics, and other household products. The various substances that we use for keeping our houses clean add to water pollution as they contain harmful chemicals. In the past, people mostly used soaps made from animal and vegetable fat for all types of washing. But most of today’s cleaning products are synthetic detergents and come from the petrochemical industry. Most detergents and washing powders contain phosphates, which are used to soften the water among other things. These and other chemicals contained in washing powders affect the health of all forms of life in the water. 

Biochemical oxygen demand, or BOD 

The amount of organic material that can rot in the sewage is measured by the biochemical oxygen demand. BOD is the amount of oxygen required by micro-organisms to decompose the organic substances in sewage. Therefore, the more organic material there is in the sewage, the higher the BOD. It is among the most important parameters for the design and operation of sewage treatment plants. BOD levels of industrial sewage may be many times that of domestic sewage. Dissolved oxygen is an important factor that determines the quality of water in lakes and rivers. The higher the concentration of dissolved oxygen, the better the water quality. When sewage enters a lake or stream, micro-organisms begin to decompose the organic materials. Oxygen is consumed as micro-organisms use it in their metabolism. This can quickly deplete the available oxygen in the water. When the dissolved oxygen levels drop too low, many aquatic species perish. In fact, if the oxygen level drops to zero, the water will become septic. When organic compounds decompose without oxygen, it gives rise to the undesirable odours usually associated with septic or putrid conditions.

Agricultural Run off

The use of land for agriculture and the practices followed in cultivation greatly affect the quality of groundwater. Intensive cultivation of crops causes chemicals from fertilizers (e.g. nitrate) and pesticides to seep into the groundwater, a process commonly known as leaching. Routine applications of fertilizers and pesticides for agriculture and indiscriminate disposal of industrial and domestic wastes are increasingly being recognized as significant sources of water pollution.

The high nitrate content in groundwater is mainly from irrigation run-off from agricultural fields where chemical fertilizers have been used indiscriminately. 

Eutrophication 

 

When fresh water is artificially supplemented with nutrients, it results in an abnormal increase in the growth of water plants. This is known as eutrophication. The discharge of waste from industries, agriculture, and urban communities into water bodies generally stretches the biological capacities of aquatic systems. Chemical run-off from fields also adds nutrients to water. Excess nutrients cause the water body to become choked with organic substances and organisms. When organic matter exceeds the capacity of the micro-organisms in water that break down and recycle the organic matter, it encourages rapid growth, or blooms, of algae. When they die, the remains of the algae add to the organic wastes already in the water; eventually, the water becomes deficient in oxygen. Anaerobic organisms (those that do not require oxygen to live) then attack the organic wastes, releasing gases such as methane and hydrogen sulphide, which are harmful to the oxygen-requiring (aerobic) forms of life. The result is a foul-smelling, waste-filled body of water. This has already occurred in such places as Lake Erie and the Baltic Sea, and is a growing problem in freshwater lakes all over India. Eutrophication can produce problems such as bad tastes and odours as well as green scum algae. Also the growth of rooted plants increases, which decreases the amount of oxygen in the deepest waters of the lake. It also leads to the death of all forms of life in the water bodies.

Industrial effluents

 

Waste water from manufacturing or chemical processes in industries contributes to water pollution. Industrial waste water usually contains specific and readily identifiable chemical compounds. During the last fifty years, the number of industries in India has grown rapidly. But water pollution is concentrated within a few subsectors, mainly in the form of toxic wastes and organic pollutants. Out of this a large portion can be traced to the processing of industrial chemicals and to the food products industry. In fact, a number of large- and medium-sized industries in the region covered by the Ganga Action Plan do not have adequate effluent treatment facilities. Most of these defaulting industries are sugar mills, distilleries, leather processing industries, and thermal power stations. Most major industries have treatment facilities for industrial effluents. But this is not the case with small-scale industries, which cannot afford enormous investments in pollution control equipment as their profit margin is very slender.

Effects of water pollution 

The effects of water pollution are not only devastating to people but also to animals, fish, and birds. Polluted water is unsuitable for drinking, recreation, agriculture, and industry. It diminishes the aesthetic quality of lakes and rivers. More seriously, contaminated water destroys aquatic life and reduces its reproductive ability. Eventually, it is a hazard to human health. Nobody can escape the effects of water pollution.

The individual and the community can help minimize water pollution. By simple housekeeping and management practices the amount of waste generated can be minimized.

Wasting Away: Natural Resources and the Environment

We are totally dependent on natural resources. Everything we have or use is made of natural resources, or raw materials and energy obtained from the environment. The clothes you're wearing, the chair you're sitting on, your house and TV and school and books, the school bus, city streets, whatever you ate for breakfast, and the package your breakfast came in are made of  natural resources. Natural resources sustain human life.

Non-renewable resources include oil and gas, soil and water, and minerals like iron and aluminium. They are found  in strictly limited quantities on our planet and are not replenished by natural processes (except in geological time frames of millions of years). Renewable natural resources include things like trees which can be replenished or  will grow again. However, even these are available in finite quantities. Trees, for example, can only grow so fast.  Sunlight and wind are the only natural resources available in essentially limitless amounts. And, although it's not  the kind of "event" that makes front-page news, many scientists think that depletion of natural resources is one  of the biggest problems our society will face in the twenty-first century.

Our use of natural resources affects the environment in many ways. Our use of natural resources has impacts that go far beyond simply using materials that are in limited supply.  The environment is affected at every stage of the chain of extraction-processing-manufacturing-marketing-consumption-disposal.

The harvesting of raw natural resources directly  impacts the environment through mining, timber cutting, construction of dams, and the like. Then the raw materials must be made into a usable form, such as metallic ores into more pure metals. This is an energy-intensive process that typically results in air and water pollution as well as unwanted or even toxic by-products. Next, to produce specific consumer products like clothes, camcorders, or skateboards, further manufacturing processes are needed. These manufacturing processes also use energy and often generate pollution. Then the final consumer products need to be transported and stored, which again  involves additional inputs of energy and materials and has further environmental impacts.

Finally, the products must be packaged and marketed to us, the public. This involves still more natural resource use and more environmental impacts related to packaging materials, billboards, print ads, and so on.  Packaging and advertising contribute significantly to the cost of a product and to its overall environmental impact as well.  In the United States, discarded packaging materials alone account for about 35% of household trash.  Print advertising in catalogues, fliers, magazines, and newspapers also contributes significantly to household trash.

When we actually purchase an end product, is the chain of impact finally complete? Not yet! If using the product we have bought requires gasoline, batteries, or electricity, the production and use of these generates more pollution.

At some point, whatever the item - be it a few ounces of packaging that holds a fast-food meal for two minutes, or a two-ton automobile that lasts for years - we throw it away. But really, there is no "away."  Something must be done with the stuff we no longer want. That can cause problems. A lot of our trash is just plain dangerous. Even common household products like paint, batteries, and cleaning supplies are often toxic. Also, the sheer volume of trash we produce is a problem in itself.

In some parts of the U.S., trash is incinerated or burned.  Incineration produces air pollution, and the ash left behind is toxic.  In other areas, trash is buried in landfills.  That has problems, too. Landfills require huge tracts of land. Pollution problems often develop around older landfills. Newer landfills are built to stricter health and environmental standards. However, both landfills and incinerator ash must be carefully monitored for hundreds of years into the future.

How much is enough? Of course, some products we buy are necessary to our health and well-being, or improve the quality of our lives. We need clothes and stoves and so on. And who would want to give up books and music and other things the enrich our lives? The question of concern is, at what level of consumption are we using up our natural resources and our environment for things that we don't need and that don't really enhance our lives?

The developed countries of the world hold 25% of the world's population, but consume 75% of all energy, 85% of all wood products, and 72% of all steel produced.

Americans consume the most of all, even more than people in other developed countries. For example, we consume about twice as much energy per person as the British, French, Swedes, Norwegians, or Japanese.  Our consumption of other resources is also high.  In Fact, from 1940 to 1976, Americans consumed more minerals than did all of humanity up to then. And our consumption rate for most resources is still rising.

Commercialism impacts the environment. Our consumption rate reflects the level of commercialism in our culture. Over the last few decades, advertising has gradually helped convince us to make changes in our lives. Ads surround us. They encourage us to want more and buy more, often regardless of our true needs. Commercialism stimulates artificial wants, and satisfying these wants means consuming more material goods and thus increases resource consumption and environmental impacts.

Ads suggest that we should want things that are newer, faster, fancier, more fashionable, a different colour, larger or smaller, just like what everyone else has or different from what everyone else has. This perceived obsolescence is used to stimulate us to buy more. The classic example of perceived obsolescence is fashions in clothing. The same approach is used when makers of computers, stereos, cars, an other products tempt us with new products even though the older versions serve our needs well. A related approach, planned obsolescence is used by makers of other products. For example, some toys, equipment, calculators, small appliances, and other items are built to last only a short while. When broken, these items are not able to be repaired but must be replaced.  Finally, purveyors of fast food and prepared foods tell us that life will be easier and more fun if we eat their highly processed and packaged foods.

A healthy environment and a supply of natural resources are basic to our well-being. The basic premise of almost all ads is that we will be happier if we havethis, too.  Companies with products for sale would like us to believe that, since their profits increase when we buy their products. Yet our well being and happiness are not necessarily dependent on having more and more and more material goods. Our long-term health, happiness, and well-being are dependent on a healthy environment, as well as on our relationships with family and friends.

Does commercialism foster a culture of waste - a culture in which we are encouraged to make choices that are fundamentally at odds with our need to conserve natural resources and care for the environment?  It seems that the typical American lifestyle involves always wanting more. When we live in highly consumptive lifestyle, we use more resources and create more pollution. Many environmental problems are tied to our rate of consumption of material goods and thus of natural resources. The most basic method of caring for our environment is to conserve natural resources and use them wisely.